On The Nature Of Time And Astrology

July 5, 2003

In the Eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Shree Krishna makes some very revealing comments on the nature of time. In the 33rd text, He tells us: " Time I am, the great destroyer of the worlds." It is very significant that Shree Krishna refers to time in the first person; He says " Time Œ I Œ am." In the ninth chapter He makes reference to the material nature in the possessive case saying " This material nature, which is one of my energies, is working under my direction ...." But with reference to Time, Shree Krishna speaks in the first person.

Thus Time enjoys a very special place in the scheme of things within the creation; Time is the will of God as manifested as a chronolgy. It is experienced and perceived in various ways, typically invoking fear and sadness.

Time's role as a beginning and end is generally well understood, but there are other, less understood aspects of Time which have been pointed out in the 11th chapter of Gita (Texts 33 and 34): " Conquer your enemies and enjoy a flourishing kingdom. They are already put to death by My arrangement, Oh Savyasachi, and you can be but na instrument in the fight. Drona, Bhishma, Jayadratha, Karna and the other great warriors have already been destroyed by me." A deeper understanding of the involvement of thinking, feeling and willing on the occurrence of any action helps us to understand the nature of time and chronology. Any action must be first initiated on the mental platform, which is an ethereal, platform; sometimes the word " astral " is used to indicate this platform. For example, in the 33rd text of the 26th chapter of the third canto of the Bhagavat Purana, His Divine Grace ª C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Prabhupada, confirms this: " Subtle forms are generated from the ethereal element, ... mental activities are also on the platform of ethereal existence."

It is only after an action is willed to occur on the subtle, etheral platform that it actually takes place in the gross material sphere. The mind acts on matter, starting from the ethereal platform. Because the subtle mind has been confined by the grosser elements of matter in our bodies and environment, specifically by certain polarities, we are not able to bring our mental power to bear, ethereally, on matter outside of our bodies. The mind does act on matter, thgough: the mind is free to act on matter within the body. It is just that the mind cannot typically act on exterior matter.

In this way, we will an act to happen and afterwards, it does; the act is initiated on the subtle, etheral platform of the mind. A certain chain reaction occurs culminating with the final manifestation of the act on the gross material platform. The succesive manifestations of the act in the various realms, subtle and finally gross, is actually an exhibition of the chronology of Time, comprehended now in a more complete way.

The reader will readily recognise that we don't experience and act first, to later have it manifest in the ethereal realm in relation to our free will. No- an act always manifests on the subtle platform first. Joseph H. Cater, in his book The Ultimate Reality, gives examples from real life of encounters experienced in subtle, ethereal realms such that the person experiencing seemed to travel through time:

Many strange disappearances are no doubt the result of teleportation. The person or persons are tcleported from one part of the planet to another for undisclosed reasons. Some may have been teleported to other planets. This could account for people disappearing and never being seen again. Such occurrences have given rise to bizarre speculations as to the nature of time and space.

This same process is involved in other strange phenomena that have been explained away by anomalies of time such as " time warps ". Such incidents have been featured in publications that specialize in the paranormal including Fate magazine. For example, a person enters an area he or she had been familiar with for many years but this time it is as it was some decades back. Houses, stores or restaurants which had long been torn down were thriving. In one case a married couple had a meal at a restaurant whose proprietor was deceased as well as other people who worked there. They were astounded at the low prices. Later when they returned everything was back to normal.

Many people who pass away find themselves in an intermediate realm just above the physical. They gravitate to an area that is an exact replica of that area in the physical realm. (Many areas of the nearest intermediate realm are a replica of the physical). Usually not realizing they are deceased, they restore everything in the area exactly as it was bit by bit. The above couple entered an energy field in the area that temporarily put them in that realm.

CHAPTER 28

MISCONCEPTIONS OF TIME AND SPACE

Teleportation, prophecy, visions, disappearances and other phenomena have led to weird and illogical speculations concerning time and space. Surprisingly, most of them have come from other than hard core scientists.

A completely adequate definition and analysis of time was presented in Part 1. It renders the vapidness of all these wild speculations about time self-evident. If the science fiction version of time travel were a possibility, then cause and effect is not an actuality. Nothing has ever really happened, since time travelers could go back and prevent everything that seemingly has happened from happening. They may have prevented themselves from coming into existence by the same process. A self-contradicting and hence impossible situation exists, a denial of all the laws of creation. This is a demonstration of the worst kind of logic possible. Speculations such as time travel are so devoid of rationality they fall into the category of insanity. Insanity is a state of mind in which the individual is out of touch with reality. The concept of time travel is a denial of reality. Therefore, a belief in this idea is by definition a form of insanity. This is actually another case of doublethink.

All of the seemingly inexplicable occurrences which have been explained away by time travel, time warps, space warps, fourth dimensions and the like, can be simply and logically accounted for. Every detail of everything that has ever happened is recorded in the vast network of cosmic computers. The conscious mind can be tuned to obtain a playback of sonic of the records. An individual can experience a past occurrence, which seems so vivid and real the person will believe he has been transported back in time. He will seemingly be able to walk around at will in the region involved, and even talk to the participants. However, they will ignore him since his experience is only a playback, and not an actual case of time travel. It is significant that in accounts of those who have had such experiences it was mentioned that the " actors " in the drama paid no attention to them. One can in the same manner have a realistic experience of some future event by tuning into what has been planned for the future.

This type of experience does not account for all cases of a seeming displacement in time. Since particles of matter in higher realms are far more active than those in lower realms, it follows that events in realms of higher frequency matter take place more rapidly. This means that smaller units of time must be employed in the higher realms. The consciousness automatically adjusts to these changes, so that the inhabitants in these worlds are not aware of any differences. Accounts received from entities residing in an astral realm who have recently lost their physical bodies confirm this. A notable case which the author encountered involves a person who seemingly had spent many months in an astral realm since his demise. At this time, he was informed to his amazement that some guides were going to take him down to the physical realm so lie could view his own funeral. This funeral took place only three days alter his departure, yet he thought several months had passed. Occult lore is steeped with cases of this type, yet the obvious reason for the time anomalies always escaped those who researched the subject. It is to be expected that the wrong interpretations concerning the properties of time are always placed on such incidents. One of the most popular explanations is the erroneous conclusion that time doesn't exist in the astral realms!

Many events which happen in the intermediate realms between the physical and first astral realm are patterned after those which will occur later in the physical realm, according to plan. This is similar to a rehearsal prior to the real production and follows the 2nd Hermetic Axiom again. An idea or plan generally needs to be tested for soundness and changes need to be made, before it is applied on a grand scale. Many of the regions in these intermediate realms have their counterparts in the physical. Those entities above the mainstream of humanity who have important roles to play in the drama have embodiments in the intermediate realms, as well as in the physical. Therefore, some events which are destined to take place in the physical have already occurred in a higher realm. This and certain cosmic computers are responsible for the accurate visions of future events, which prophets have received throughout history. Some individuals may have been temporarily transported to these realms to obtain glimpses of' certain conditions on the Earth, as they are supposed to be sometime in the future. These experiences have supposedly included conversations with some of the inhabitants at times. The person in each case thought lie was a time traveler or passed through a " time warp " into future time.

A well authenticated incident featured in a recent issue of FATE magazine seemed to support the idea of'" time warps." It was similar in some respects to that mentioned in the previous chapter but with a strange twist. Briefly the experience occurred in 1959. An airplane pilot entered an area with ail airport lined with vintage planes of the early 30s. Suddenly, a 1934 model loomed up in front of him which resulted in a partial collision damaging both planes. Later the pilot did some research which revealed an entry in a log relating this vintage plane's encounter with this " strange aircraft " seemingly out of the future which was accurately described.

In the process of resolving any problem or anomaly after the impossible has been eliminated that which remains regardless of how improbable or bizarre must be true. With this case the impossible is the so-called " time warp." This 1959 pilot entered an energy field which put him in an intermediate realm in which the inhabitants were trying to live in the past similar to the case mentioned in the previous chapter. Any damage, of course, done to the plane would remain after it returned to the physical realm. The only paradox remaining is the record supposedly made in 1934. There are a number of possible explanations infinitely more plausible than a " time warp." One would be a practical joker with powers taking advantage of this situation. He could replicate this record made in the intermediate realm and insert it in appropriate files in the physical realm, thus creating a real mystery.

Another kind of phenomenon involving a time discrepancy is a series of events supposedly taking place in familiar surroundings in which the apparent time interval is much smaller than it should be. For example, one might walk from one place to another and be aware of every step taken, yet find that a much smaller interval of time has elapsed than is actually required to walk the distance. This is a case where the mind of the individual may have been impressed with the thought that tic or she had actually walked all the way, but the individual was actually teleported to the destination. A state of' hallucination could have been artificially induced prior to teleportation. It is possible that a practical joker with certain powers was involved. A significant number have claimed to have had such an experience. This is another type of experience which has spawned the idea of time or space warps.

One notable case that was explained away by a time warp happened just recently. Police in a rural Arkansas community discovered a in a Union Army Civil War uniform wandering about in a bewildered and completely disoriented mental state- He thought the year was 1864 and that Lincoln was still president. Modem technology terrified him. Tests on his clothing indicated it was manufactured at least 120 years ago. Psychiatrists in desperation arranged to send him to Vienna. Every conceivable test, including the use of truth scrum, has indicated that the man is not lying. At present, he is under study at undisclosed university research facility in Vienna. This incident ma headlines in the April 9, 1985, issue of Weekly World News.

By now, it is not difficult to deduce what actually happened. He entered a pocket of energies (or they were projected to him) which placed him in a state of limbo and suspended animation between the physical realm and the realm just above it for over 120 years.

All paradoxes concerning time and space are well within the scope of concepts introduced thus far. The creation of an activity in a form involves the flow of energy, and consequently the flow of time.

Time is inseparable from all of this, and is therefore an integral part of it, including creation- It follows that anything which is independent of time is not a creation. Space comes under this category! It is Formless void of infinite extension in three, and only three, dimensions. This is all that it is. One becomes aware of its existence only through creation or the flow of energy, which can only take place in three dimensions.

The absurdity of that supposedly profound phrase, " beyond time and space," often used by metaphysical teachers and writers, should be more than apparent by now. An entity is dependent upon both time and space for its existence. It would be some achievement to get beyond time and space.

( Pages 433 437)

The understanding of time as a act which chronologically unfolds in various realms paves the way for us to understand astrological determinism. Sometimes it is incompletely understood that astrology is a study of karma. In actuality, it is principally a study of time- karma manifests in due course of time, within the chronology provided by time. The theme of astrological determinism has been in existence for as long as astrology itself. They go hand in hand, for although one may be bound by karmic reactions, one still has some free will upon which to call. And God's will must be factored into the equation, too. So naturally, a question arises; up to what degree are we bound and at which point does free will or divine intervention come into play? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are not always understood properly and the science of astrology ends up being misunderstood. The Vedantra Sutra clears up any misunderstandings by telling us: " Upon obtaining Vidya there takes place the non-clinging of works done in the present life, and the destruction of karma stored up which was done in the past life. This is so because it is declared in the Upanishads." Initially, this text seems to support the idea that one can become free of karma through purificatory processes such as meditation, chanting and through rituals.

But the 15th verse of the same chapter seems to put everything in perspective. There it is stated that " But only the immature karmas of former lives, namely, those karmas whose effects have not begun, are destroyed by knowledge." This verse seems to suggest that the currently manifesting karmas, the prarabdha karmas, remain even if one were to obtain Vidya.

Karma which has not yet begun to manifest, not even on the ethereal platform, may fall of for one who becomes purified or released of the reaction in some way. But the karmas indicated in the horoscope must come to pass because those karmas have already been initiated in a subtler realm, and are just waiting to trickle down.

Hence astrologers have to be very careful about ascribing karmic amelioration to gems, mantras and worship of planetary deities. It is true that Parashara Rishi does prescribe worship of the planetary deities, prayer and charity to brahmins (priests) as remedial measures. He explains that the creator (Brahma) instructed the presiding planetary deities to " do good unto those that worship you " (84th chapter of The Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra). However, Parashara did not prescribe gems, only mantras and the worship of planetary deities. Gems have only been written about in the light of karmic amelioration within the last few centuries by tantrik brahmins in India. Any type of karmic amelioration can only function within the parameters of action which has already aquired momentum in subtler realms.